1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to sanding or snow trucks and more particularly to a truck mounted, safety platform assembly for such vehicles.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Winter in many parts of this country may mean hazardous driving conditions. Many states and municipalities have winter programs to disburse sand, salt, gravel or other substances onto their roadways in order to make driving conditions less hazardous. The disbursement of such materials onto roadways is generally accomplished through the use of a hopper situated in the rear of a large dump truck or similar vehicle.
A truck hopper is commonly loaded by means of a bucket loader. During the loading operation, an individual is required to be in an elevated position such that he may, by use of a shovel or other similar instrument, break up or remove undesirable formations of sand, salt, gravel or ice which become caught on a grating located on top of the hopper.
Presently an individual performs this function while standing on a very small overhang intended for protection of the truck cab. The bucket of the loader may be within inches of this individual. There is no railing on this overhang and there is no room to move back from the loading equipment. The individual operating the bucket loader may have from a poor to a completely obstructed view of the individual on this overhang. The individual on the overhang is approximately 10 feet off the ground and the logical places where such an individual would land if he was to fall from this overhang are usually occupied by a wing plow or other steel equipment. Thus an inherently dangerous situation is presented to an individual standing on this overhang attempting to observe and facilitate the loading of the hopper.
Some localities have attempted to overcome this inherent danger by employing a platform, elevated to the height of the hopper, at a fixed location. The operator of the truck maneuvers his vehicle next to this fixed platform in such a way that the platform is on one side of the hopper. An individual may then stand on this fixed platform and observe and facilitate the loading of the hopper. The drawbacks, however, associated with this attempted solution are numerous, mainly having to do with the fixed nature of the platform, and have resulted in its failure to attain widespread acceptance. Time and effort is required for the operator of the truck to carefully align the hopper across from and within reach of the fixed platform. Additional time and effort may be required by the operator of the bucket loader who must haul the material to be loaded from sand, salt or gravel piles located sometimes quite a distance from the truck hopper and stationary platform. These additional steps add to the duration and expense of the loading operation. Also if the operator of the truck is away from the loading facility and must "poke down" his load, the fixed platform at the loading facility is of no value.
Therefore, there presently exists a genuine need for a safe, practical, inexpensive, and versatile approach for allowing an individual to observe and facilitate the loading of the hopper of a sanding or snow truck.